A Step By Step Photo Guide

Click on image to enlarge

See also:
>Guide to building a Tiger 1E
>Guide to building a King Tiger
>Guide to building a M4 Sherman
>Guide to building a M26 Pershing
>Guide to building a Leopard 2A6

Once opened, all the parts are nicely laid out. On the left you have the speaker box above the DMD controller and multi-function unit. The main model itself including the upper hull and turret assemblies is to the right. The metal lower hull is underneath. Next to this is a long box containing all the other electronic parts, metal suspension parts, screws and bolts and all the odds and bits. To the right, you have the twin motor and gearbox on top of the main metal running gear.

Firstly, find a clear work area and have all the tools readily within reach. You will need: a side cutter, a pair of sharp nose pliers, a sharp craft knife, a fine file, assortment of screw drivers (Ripmax do a good set for £4.99), a set of clamps, liquid poly (plastic glue) and cyanoacrylate (super glue). Ceramic grease and liquid thread lock is provided with the kit. Anything else is secondary or extra.

Tips: Have the metal primer and at least three cans of US Army olive drab spray paint ready. It's easier to spray some parts first before assembly and then apply a thin coat of over spray afterwards.

Tips: Invest in a multi-compartment plastic organiser tray, preferably with a lid, from your local DIY shop to put all the loose bits in. You'll find it save you so much time and frustrations in the long run not having to look for missing bits.

When you remove the parts from the packaging, put them separately in different compartments in your tray. This is especially important for the three bags of screws and nuts labelled A, B and C. Remember which is which. Better still label the compartments accordingly. As you open the other bags, put them into separate compartments.

Tips: Make sure at least one of the screw drivers is magnetic - for picking up small screw and nuts from the said tray.

Tips: When working with small parts, have a contrasting surface which helps you find them easily. I found having a sheet of white paper before me to work upon is useful for most parts.

The six metal suspension armatures are fitted onto the lower metal chassis with the screw provided. Apply plenty of liquid thread lock to make sure it doesn't work loose. The two sets of rear idler wheels are also fitted at this point. These are adjustable and should not be fixed.

At this point, the detail parts on the rear panel is assembled and attached to the metal chassis using super glue.

The outside exposed part of the whole assembly is then primed with a suitable spray primer along with all the other main metal parts like the sprockets and the suspension assemblies. I use grey primer from Halfords. They are just as good, cheaper and do not damage plastic parts if they can't be avoid being sprayed together. Smaller metal parts can be primed by hand using a suitable brush.

Leave the primer to dry for the recommended time. I would also spray the main chassis at this point in overall olive drab. The reason for this is explained in the next section.

The Sherman has five sets of return rollers either side; three small and two large. The rubber that is meant to be on them is moulded in plastic. They don't have separate rubber treads like for the main road wheels. Therefore to make them realistic, the wheels should first be sprayed in olive drab. When dry, paint the rubber on by hand using Tamiya's matt black acrylic paint.

The wheel hubs and wheel caps should also be sprayed in olive drab at the same time as the wheels.

Tips: Important - Make sure you fit and secure the forward-most return roller on both side first before mounting the gearboxes as they do not leave big enough gaps to allow you to put the nuts on afterward. I learned this lesson the hard way!

You may now proceed to fit the gearboxes and complete the front of the lower hull. I have primed the extending side plates before-hand. The gearboxes and the inside of the chassis should now be masked using suitable tape and paper before the unpainted parts are sprayed in overall olive drab. Don't forget to mask the front-most pair of return rollers else the carefully painted on tyres will be over-sprayed.

After the paint has dried, the rest of the return rollers can be fitted. Make sure you apply grease to the spindles during fitting of the return rollers to allow free movement and secure the nuts using liquid thread lock.

The three pairs of suspension arm and road wheel assembles are assembled separately away from the main chassis, primed and sprayed in olive drab (including the screws) before they are attached to the receiving armature on the main chassis. The rubber tyres can be added after the suspensions and road wheels have been attached.

Add main drive sprockets to gearboxes and rubber tyres to rear idler wheel. The lower hull assembly is now complete. The aerial fittings are left in their original colour as they are not really part of the model.